Tiny Cubes of Hot Ice
by Raika
Summary: Yet another collection of Zutara drabbles and oneshots for all to enjoy! Set 1 of the 50 Sentance challenge up: ...their battles could not be held within the confines of the ring...
1. To Understand Creation

This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, though I have been reading it for years. I'm not much of a writer, but I wanted to try my hand at some drabbles and when this one popped into my head in the shower an hour ago I decided that tonight would be a good night to start. I'm known for my horrible spelling and grammar so if you see anything please let me know so I can fix it! Thanks for reading!

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**To Understand Creation**

"Zuko, do you remember when I asked you how it felt to _create_?" She asked as she walked through the door to our bedroom.

"Of course I remember."

It had been years ago as I sat in front of the fire tossing a ball of flames between my palms absentmindedly. She had awoken and moved out of her sleeping bag to sit besides me, closer than she had ever dared to before. The question that had followed had been the first one directed towards me that was void of any hostility since I had started traveling with their group and I will never forget the longing in her voice and eyes as she asked it.

Initially I had gone into the technicalities of it, often explaining it to her in the same words my Uncle had to me, but that wasn't what she wanted to know. So I tried to clarify it but found that I had no words to describe the feeling of bringing the fire to life to someone who didn't already know. She must have seen that I was getting frustrated and had placed her hand on my arm telling me to forget it. That was the first time I had felt her cool skin on my own and had locked the memory in my head forever, treasuring it.

But why would she bring it up now?

She saw my unspoken question and smiled as she placed a hand on her stomach. "I think I understand now."

At first I didn't realize what she meant, but as understanding dawned on me I found myself at a loss for words. This time it wasn't she who reached out to me but myself who rushed to her, sweeping her up in a passionate kiss. Again I locked the memory away, this time not in my head but in my heart.

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I'm not too happy about how this came out. I can't get the ideas in my head to be written the way I want them to be. Hopefully you enjoyed it anyway! 


	2. Melting Obstacles

_Thanks to those of you who reviewed the first chapter! _

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**Melting Obstacles **

As the firebender walked in the forest he heard ferocious screaming coming from the directed he had come from. Thinking the worst he broke into a run heading towards their camp.

"Stupid sticky, sap-spewing, hair-killing, leafy…" Sokka paused as he tried to think of another insult. "Tree!"

"Sokka, what in Agni's name are you doing to that tree?" He panted, seeing nothing wrong with said tree.

The other boy just glared at him before he resumed ripping defenseless leaves off the offending tree and throwing them into the campfire. Aang sighed as he jumped down from where he had been sitting on Appa to land softly on the ground. He led Zuko away from the still enraged teenager before trying to speak.

"Katara had been sitting against that tree mending a shirt and when she tried to get up she was stuck…"

"By her _hair_!" Came a call from the other side of the fire.

"… by her hair. Anyway, we got her detached from the tree and we tried to get the sap out, but there wasn't much we could do. She left saying she was going to go try and get the sap out in the water from the river even though we had already tried soaking it."

"She brought a knife with her." Sokka walked up to them, suddenly very calm having had expended enough energy getting revenge on the tree. "She's going to cut it."

Zuko knew something about the significance of cutting ones hair.

He stayed silent as Sokka started to explain the importance of Katara's long hair.

"When we were small our mother used to let Katara play with her hair at night as she told us stories. She loved Mom's hair, and wanted hers to be just as long. After mom…" he still couldn't say it "… left us… Katara refused to cut it at all, saying that she wouldn't until it was just as long as Mom's had been. It's longer then Mom's ever was but she still hasn't even trimmed it." He sighed, "Until now that is."

Zuko also knew something about losing a mother.

He only hesitated a moment before making his decision. Without a word he turned back the way he had came, ignoring the warnings of the other two boys, hoping he wasn't too late.

As the river came into sight he saw her sitting on a log staring at her reflection on the water's surface. Suddenly she moved one hand to and grasped her hair while the other closed in on the locks with the sharp edge of a small dagger. Right before the first strand would have been scratched a strong hand seized her wrist.

She looked up with bright tear-stained eyes, obviously surprised, before that emotion quickly darkened into anger.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed, clearly upset at being interrupted.

"Just shut up." Couldn't she see how hard this was for him?

He turned her around so he was sitting behind her as he started to warm up his hands. As he placed his hands gently in her hair, being extra careful not to burn her neck, she could feel the hardened shell start to soften and melt away.

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_That last line was supossed to have a deeper meaning... hope that came through at all!  
_

_I like the way this one came out better than the last. I thought of this one a long time ago, along with a few others that might make it on the computer at some point. Thanks again for reading! _

_- Raika _


	3. Pillows

_Hello everyone! I'm so glad ffnet is working again! Did everyone see the new episode Friday night? I've been lurking on a lot of LJ commnities and there has been a lot of comments on Zuko's stealing and leaveing his Uncle, but I noticed something that I haven't seen anyone mention yet. Yes stealing is bad, and Zuko shouldn't be doing it, but not once did we see him touch or use anything of the things he stole, it all went to his Uncle. The only thing he used at all was the bird-horse thing (which I wish they would give a name so everyone can stop calling it thing). And I just loved the way he said "Do you like your new tea-set?"._

_Anyway, enjoy! _

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**Pillows   
**

Few knew of Prince Zuko's love for pillows.

Before his banishment his bed in the palace had been covered in them. Even after being banished many a crew member would find a pillow or two missing when it was time to take inventory. Not once did the thought that it was, in fact, their hardheaded prince stealing the cushions cross their minds.

Pillows were safe.

Pillows provided warmth and comfort without asking for anything in return.

Pillows were his mother's arms, his uncles loving words, his sister's once innocent smile and his father's acceptance.

Pillows were the only comfort that our lonely prince allowed himself to indulge in.

When his ship was blown up by the pirates his pillows were also lost to the flames and he found himself unable to sleep without them surrounding him. For weeks he searched for a replacement but was unable to find anything softer than the moss growing on of the cold hard ground, and there was never enough of it in one place to make a decent bed out of.

Later, after he teamed up with the Avatar, he was always the last to sleep and the first to rise. Everyone assumed they knew why, even his uncle thought it was just because he couldn't sleep throughout the night due to nightmares, but they were all wrong.

Prince Zuko, former heir to the Fire Nation throne, had made some friends.

Some animal friends.

In fact, when he was debating on whether or not to join the Avatar it was the thought of snuggling with that huge fluffy beast that had been the deciding factor.

It had not been easy to get the bison to trust him; he had burnt a few patches of his fur in the past after all. The first time that he had tried to approach the shaggy creature had not gone so well and he ended up having to stay awake the entire night in order to make sure that it didn't try to kill him… again.

After about a week he discovered that the key to the big beast was the smaller one. He found that all it took was a little food and that little guy was your friend for life.

Zuko wasn't sure how the two communicated but somehow Momo, because he also established that calling them by name made a huge difference, had gotten the message across to Appa that if he was feeding them then he couldn't be all that bad. From then on Zuko was permitted to burrow into the soft white fur which was better then any pillow the prince had ever owned. The added comfort of Momo sleeping on his chest was an unexpected plus.

This went on for months with none of his traveling companions ever suspecting a thing. The closest anyone got was Aang, who once wondered aloud why the lemur was no longer sleeping with him. Zuko just shrugged, determined to keep this weakness a secret.

Unfortunately for Zuko, Appa found that he liked the Zuko who was with him at night much more then the Zuko who put on an act during the day. He decided it was time to do something about it.

One night in early-spring Katara was awoken by a bump to the head. Looking up to see what had hit her she found herself staring to the wide green eyes of Momo, who quickly ran off, his job done. Katara sat up, thinking to get some water, when she noticed that there seemed to be a person missing.

_'Honestly, does that boy ever sleep?' _She stood up; intent on finding out what he could possibly be doing so late at night when she noticed a shadow against Appa's fur. Curious, she made her way over and gasped as she saw who was sleeping there.

There was Zuko, _Prince _Zuko, nestled into the gentle down of Appa's fur, looking every bit the part of a child with his favorite, albeit big, stuffed animal.

_'Well, maybe not so much the image of a child.' _She thought as she noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and even in the dark she could see his well defined muscles reflecting off the light from the moon. She stood there for what could have been hours but was more likely just a few minutes, just looking at him; taking in this new side of Zuko that seemed so… innocent.

Katara was broken out of her trance when Momo suddenly ran up to the sleeping prince and took his normal place on his chest. She grinned as Zuko's lips curled into a small smile as his hand automatically came up to stoke the lemur's fine fur and his molten eyes started to open.

His smile didn't disappear right away when their eyes locked as he tried to register the girl that was standing over him in his sleep-fuzzed mind. Katara felt her heart skip a beat as he directed his contented smile towards her and marveled at how it made him look, well, like a normal seventeen year old boy.

All too fast Zuko's brain caught on to the fact that he was, indeed, awake and that wonderful smile vanished, much to Katara's disappointment. Zuko made to get up, but found that the lemur had settled down on top of him and gently picked him up, placing him gently on the bison. The tenderness in his action had caught Katara's attention and she shuddered as the thought of what those hands could _do _passed though her mind before she could stop it.

Zuko stood and could feel his anger rising at having been found out but before he could start yelling or making up some kind of excuse she broke out of her trance and asked just one simple question.

"Doesn't it get cold?"

Zuko started at the sound of her voice, "What?" No teasing? No ridicule? No calling him weak or pathetic?

"I mean, I know it's spring and that Appa is warm but don't you get cold without a blanket or something?"

"No. I'm a firebender." He said with every ounce of princely confidence he could manage. "Firebenders never get cold." She gave him a look that clearly told him she knew he was lying.

Without a word she turned and walked back to where her things were and picked up her sleeping bag. As she walked back over she unfastened the side, turning it into a blanket. She marched right past the immobile boy and took a seat against Appa, spreading the bag out to cover herself and the empty spot next to her.

"It's been a long time since I've slept with you, hasn't it Appa?" She asked as she snuggled into his fur. She then turned her attentions back towards Zuko who was trying to get the words 'slept with you' from turning into a more _visual_ sense in his brain.

"Aren't you going back to sleep?" When he still didn't move she sighed. "Look, I've already caught you. It's not like you aren't going to wake up before everyone else anyway, you can just get up like you always do and no one will know any differently." After a moment he took a hesitant step forward and she smiled as she moved to give him room.

It became their secret ritual that Katara would fall asleep against Appa alone and after everyone else went to bed Zuko would join her. On cooler nights Zuko would wake to find that he had pulled her close for warmth and would quickly jump away, afraid of what she would say if she found out.

This pattern went unbroken until the pair was spilt from the group after a rather brutal battle against his sister. That night it was Katara who snuggled up to him before dozing off on the unyielding ground that made up the floor of the cave they had found to use for shelter. It was in the moment before sleep overtook him that Zuko realized something.

He didn't need pillows or a huge flying bison anymore.

He had her.

And she was all he needed to be at peace.

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_If you haven't noticed I think that Zuko's mother was someone that he really loved. Until I'm proven wrong this will be something that might pop up here and there. _

_And thanks for all your wonderful reviews! I'll try to keep things as original as I can! _

_Raika  
_


	4. Purple

_So I finally update. I've been so busy working all summer that I haven't had time to do much of anything else. Also, I'm not much of a writer so I'm only going to write plot bunnies that happen to bite because I'm sure if I try to force something out it will be unorginal and just plain bad._

_I got this idea while at the rave at Otakon a few weeks back. (I cosplayed Jun on Friday and Sunday! I was Matsumoto from Bleach on Saturday.). I don't really like Modern-day AU's much but I couldn't stop myself from writing this._

_I don't own A:TLA._

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**Purple **

Katara stood to the side and watched the swirling sea of lights and people move to the beat of the deafening techno music blazing out onto the dance floor from the many speakers set up around the room.

This was her first time at a rave and although she had been hesitant at first she found herself becoming oddly attached to the glowing blue sticks she held in her hands. They were just so… glowly. The only problem was that she was having a hard time getting herself to move like the people around her who obviously knew what they were doing. Oh she had tried, multiple times in fact, but somehow her movements didn't match those of the ravers she was currently watching. Never one to give up Katara pushed herself off the wall, lifted her arms and began to try again.

"You're doing it all wrong." A haughty voice spoke out behind her. She turned and saw the speaker was a boy, maybe a few years older than herself, with long black hair tied up in a high ponytail. He was dressed completely in black, contrasting with both his pale skin and the two bright red glow-sticks in his hands.

"Who asked you?" Her sapphire eyes flashed in anger at his blunt appraisal of her nonexistent rave-skills.

He smirked, amused at her anger, and without another word started dancing. Katara couldn't help but notice how well he controlled the red streaks in the air. He moved them smoothly around each other, faster and faster until she could no longer see two separate red marks, but one unbroken crimson line. She could feel herself blush as she watched his lithe body move around the dance floor, finding herself attracted to the power his movements commanded.

"Can you teach me?"

She found the words had come out without her consent, her burning desire to learn overwhelming her anger and her pride. He didn't answer, opting to grab her by the wrist and drag her onto the floor instead.

"Your movements by themselves are smooth, but you have to think of the sticks as two halves of a single object. Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. Just two different parts of the same whole."

With those words something clicked in Katara's head. She took a deep breath as a fast song ended and a new one began, this time the beat starting off slowly. She watched her own arms, as if in a trace, start to move in sync with each other. As the beat sped up she began to feel strangely powerful, getting a high off the control she had over the water-like lights swirling at the tips of her fingers.

So absorbed in her own dancing she had all but forgotten the boy standing next to her until he too began to move, his fiery glow moving into her field of vision.

As time went on they changed from dancing next to each other to dancing _with _each other. Their lights circling each other in an endless battle of red and blue, fire and ice, yin and yang. Ever pushing, fighting, struggling then turning, rotating into something else entirely. Neither ever winning, neither ever really wanting to win; content with the battle in itself.

Eventually Katara's arms started to grow tired and, missing a beat, she slammed her hand into the young man's in front of her, causing both of their glow-sticks to fall to the ground. She froze, eyes locked onto the golden ones above her, before she blushed and dove to the floor to recover the fallen lights. She handed one of the sticks to the boy and made an excuse about needing some water, suddenly overcome by the pounding of her heart and the unexplainable desire to just _get away_ and _fast._

It was only later, after she worked up the will to start dancing again, did she notice that while her left hand still held a blue glow-stick her right hand now clutched a red one. She grinned as the separate red and blue lights merged to create one radiant purple slash in the air. Looking around she spotted another purple blur dancing not too far away and couldn't stop her feet from moving closer to the intoxicating light.

_I have to return his glow-stick. _She rationalized.

_And get his name   
_

_… _

_And maybe his number. _

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_I'm so bad at reviewing other people's work myself that I'm not going to ask you to review mine, I just hope that you enjoyed it! _

_Also, I've had this crack-theory fic idea in my head for months now. I've never written anything multi-chapter but it's begging to be written. It would be an Ursa/ Lt. Jee fic with some Zutara popping up in the background at some point. Anyone might want to read something like that?  
_


	5. 50 Sentences: Set 1

_Hi everyone, long time no update! I decided to try my hand at the 50 sentence challenge (Set Gamma) and here is the first 10. Hope you enjoy them!  
_

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**#01 - Ring**

Normally the front rows of the stadium were the most coveted by those who wished to see the fights, but when the Lord and Lady sparred the seats were left empty - everyone knew that their battles could not be held within the confines of the ring set around them.

**#02 - Hero**

Zuko was the boys' hero - not because he was the Fire Lord, but because with his fathers' help they could complete his most difficult puzzle (a picture of turtleduckings) in just under an hour.

**#03 - Memory**

It didn't matter that he was now in his twenty's; sometimes he woke up and thought that the warm arms wrapped around his middle were those of his mother and not those of his wife.

**#04 - Box**

The curiosity was killing her, she just had to open it – what she found was a golden hair clip, a turtleduck feather and a small piece of torn blue ribbon that matched the one around her neck - _so that's why it was frayed…_

**#05 - Run**

She wouldn't, couldn't, obey his command to leave the thrown room – she had made a promise to always stay with him and even a towering wall of flames could not make her break it.

**#06 - Hurricane**

"Leave it," she told the servant who had started to clean up the toys thrown haphazardly around the room, "if my husband and son were able to take them out before, they will be able to put them back when they return."

**#07 - Wings**

It was when he slipped the robe from her shoulder that he saw it, "Katara… you have a tattoo...?" and before she could respond he followed the inked feathers with his lips, praying that she would never try to fly away from him.

**#08 - Cold**

They were awoken by something moving up between them underneath the sheets – _can I sleep with you, my room is cold – _never mind that it was the hottest summer in a decade.

**#09 - Red**

"These are blue in the Fire Nation" he said before taking a bite and discovering that whatever the skin color the fruit tasted just as sweet no matter where it was grown.

**#10 - Drink**

"Oh I do love tea" Iroh sang to his nephew the night of his wedding, handing him two full cups before winking one golden eye, "Did you know that some can even have positive effects if drunk in the bedroom?"

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_The next set will be up shortly, within a week I'd guess. Also I've started that other Ursa/Jee story I had been thinking about. Right now I only have one chapter up, but the second will be up either tonight or tomorrow. There will be some Zutara in it later, so check it out if you want!_

_Raika  
_


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